{"nrhp_refnum":"98000246","name":"Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation and Museum","other_names":["Rotunda, The"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"10621 Victory Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Hollywood","county":"Los Angeles County","state":"CA","lat":34.19032428700007,"lon":-118.36146078999997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-03-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-pillared, arched Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival monument with Churrigueresque decoration, built in 1924 as the Valhalla Memorial Rotunda at the eastern end of a cemetery in North Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California. It was designed by architect Kenneth McDonald, Jr.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is a rare surviving example of Churrigueresque-style architecture favored in early twentieth-century Southern California, with distinctive cast stone sculpture. It also served for decades as a community gathering place and, since 1953, as a shrine honoring aviation pioneers.","narrative":"Rising 72 feet on four marble-faced pillars joined by high arches, this 1924 structure at the eastern end of a North Hollywood cemetery began as the Valhalla Memorial Rotunda and park entrance. Architect Kenneth McDonald, Jr. designed it in Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival style with Churrigueresque decoration. Cast stone figures, garlands, urns and cupids cover the arches and roofline, and a mosaic tile cupola crowns the red tile roof. In the 1920s and 1930s it hosted Sunday concerts and drew families on weekend drives. After Burbank's airport opened nearby, a park employee campaigned for an aviation shrine, and in 1953 it was dedicated as the Portal of the Folded Wings to honor aviation pioneers. Neglect and the 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged it, and a 1996 conservation project restored the stonework and tiles. The four pillar rooms now hold an aviation museum. It is listed for its architecture and its rare, original sculptural detail.","period_of_significance":"1924","architect_builder":"McDonald, Kenneth, Jr.","architectural_style":"Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival; Churrigueresque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Restored in 1996 after Northridge earthquake damage; the interior rooms now serve as an aviation museum open free to the public, on active cemetery grounds.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.879392-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/98000246.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000246/141e073f25-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000246/141e073f25-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cbl62 (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portal_of_the_Folded_Wings.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cbl62 (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portal_of_the_Folded_Wings.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859430","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_of_the_Folded_Wings_Shrine_to_Aviation","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7231495"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/los-angeles-county/portal-of-the-folded-wings-shrine-to-aviation-and-museum-98000246/"}